The Rest of Our Lives

(This is a series set during a possible future for Ariana and Adell in the thread chain on Multi)

Part 1

"Marry me."

It was like Ariana had been hit by a bus. Those two simple words wormed their way into her heart, mind, and soul, and did things to them she never thought possible. They had been together, as a couple, for all of four—or was it five?—months. Such a short amount of time, and yet it felt like they had been together all their lives. It was impossible for them to have not realized who they were to eachother.

Someone to love.

Such a short time, and yet nearly every emotional and physical barrier that had been in front of them had been destroyed by their will to be together. It was as if even their souls recognized that much.

No matter how hard she would have tried to deny it had she been her old self, she owed her life, and her sanity, to the red-haired young man looking into her eyes like they were the key to his salvation. It was a debt she would gladly pay for the rest of her life. He wasn't even the one to start their relationship, it had been her feelings that had encouraged him to pursue it.

It had been her that had wanted them together; her who had so selfishly fought for his lips, forcing him to deal with her mass amount of issues. She had wanted him, and she had gotten him. In fact, she had acquired every aspect of him.

She had his trust.

She had his virginity.

She had his love.

She had gained those things, and now it became crystal clear to her why he had asked her that simple two-word question as she reviewed why she had so eagerly fought to get them.

His virginity—while something most men would want to get rid of as soon as they could—was something she knew deep in her heart that he had kept for a purpose. It wasn't just because he got embarrassed easily by beautiful women. It was because he was saving it. Saving it for someone who managed to take his heart.

His trust, no person could truly grasp what it meant to have his trust. If someone had his trust they had his life. He would put it on the line no matter what the situation if the person in trouble was someone he deemed his friend.

His love: that was the thing she'd thought she would never get from anyone.

And he had told her he loved her, and meant it with all his heart.

For her, he had risked unlocking the boundaries of his emotions. He had made himself vulnerable to being hurt by a woman who had as many issues with intimacy as stars in the sky. The invincible demon hero had surrendered his heart to the one person that seemed most likely to scoff in the face of anything that implied intimacy.

She should have realized sooner.

She should have known that when she had obtained those things, she had gained something far more valuable and far more lasting.

She had gained his commitment.

He didn't jump into battle, risking his life just to save some aquaintance. He had dived headfirst into the definition of suicide for a friend close to his heart, someone who had gained his devotion through trials and struggle. He was devoted to each and every one of his friends, but never had he committed himself to an interpersonal relationship meant for trying to find one's life's love.

She really should have known. He did nothing half-assed, she'd learned that early on after meeting him. He had made love to her because he knew where he wanted their relationship to go. He hadn't done it simply out of the urge to relieve his hormones, he hadn't done it just as some need to boast about his conquests, he had done it because he loved her and he wanted to show her that he wanted to be with her for more than just a few months, or a few years. He wanted to be with her for life.

This knowledge that she had gained made every part of her burn with a different kind of flame. The flames of passion he still kept simmering within her, but these flames burned with the intensity of the sun, corny as that may sound.

'He's my reason to live', she thought, and it brought a small smile to her already glowing face. The magnificent blue eyes that hadn't stopped looking into hers, warmed further with the reflection of her smile visible in them. It was moments like these that she wanted to remember for the rest of her life.

It was moments like these she wanted to keep creating for the rest of her life.

With him.

He wasn't even out of high school yet, but he had experienced more in the past several months than most people could live out in several lifetimes. Most people would never know what it felt like to be skewered by a sword. Most people would never know what it felt like to be afraid of losing the one they love because some maniacal bastard was on a power trip. Most people would never know the pressure of getting stronger in a limited time period while someone's life hung in the balance of whether or not they achieved it in time.

Even though he didn't show it most of the time, she knew. He had been forced to grow up much faster than anyone else. Yet he did it willingly. He did it knowing what would happen if he did. He would grow farther away from who had once been his friends, but along the way those that were with him would become even closer than they had been before. Most of all, he would grow further away from his old life in general. He would never be able to look on a tragedy and say he couldn't do anything, and he would never be able to ignore what had been out of his vision anymore. He had pledged his life to many different things in the past, and even as that life dwindled at times, he fulfilled his pledge no matter what the cost.

Even if that cost was he had had to mature at an extraordinary rate for a teenage boy.

Now, the young man lying under her had asked her a question she knew he knew the full repercussions of, a question that would alter both of their lives tremendously.

And after going over these things in her mind as her fingers lay twined with his, and his adoring eyes still watching her lovingly, without a hint of impatience, she couldn't resist the answer that immediately came to mind afterwards. It scared the living Hell out of her, it really did, but she couldn't say anything else.

A choked noise that sounded somewhat like a word caught Adell's attention and he looked at her quizzically. "What did you say?"

Again, the same noise, but it was getting stronger. Finally, after swallowing numerous times to try and wet her suddenly parched throat and licking her lips nervously, which had Adell stiffening beneath her, she was able to get out the word she had been trying to say. It came out as a whisper, something that wouldn't have been heard had he not been listening for it, but what it said was still indisputable.

"…Yes…"

They laid there for a lot longer after that, as if they couldn't believe they had just had the conversation they knew they just had. Then, when the reality finally set in, Adell's face broke out into the widest, happiest, stupidest grin she had ever seen him wear in their entire time together. The ones she'd seen in pictures of his childhood couldn't even hold a candle to the one on his face now. He was happy.

She had made him happy.

With that in mind, she knew without a doubt that there was an identical smile mirrored on her now. She had made the right decision, she was surer of that now then she ever could have been before.

Mrs. Ariana Kronos.

She really liked the sound of that, she realized with a giggle, which soon erupted into full out laughter. For no apparent reason, maybe just to go along with it, but more likely because he was so happy, Adell did the same. They were naked, holding each other, still in bed after just making love, engaged, and now they were laughing their heads off.

'God we're a couple of goofballs!' Adell thought, but he couldn't stop laughing. So much had happened in so little time and he couldn't care in the least. He knew the moment this had happened he was going to ask her, and she had made him so unexpectedly happy he just couldn't stop. She deserved his laughter, she deserved his smiles. She deserved to hear that he loved her every day of her life.

When they quieted down, still shaking from the occasional giggle in each other's arms, their eyes locked once again.

"So how are we gonna live? You have a job ready? Cause I can't continue being a bounty hunting mercenary for the rest of my life, and honestly, I'd prefer to stay at home with you." She said suddenly.

Mentally Adell smiled, she had really meant her answer, she was taking this seriously. "Ariana, I've been getting martial arts training from my mom most of my life, and I'm sure I could start my own dojo if I wanted, which I kinda do. And money?" He laughed after that, for a reason she didn't know, but he soon put that confusion to rest.

"Considering all the friends we have, if we ever had any serious money issues, they would force us to take their money to help us. Ariana, we will never have money problems. Being friends with so many rich and influential people does have some perks."

A small, light smile that was joined by softening red eyes meeting his gaze. "You really did think this through…you really mean it…"

Adell frowned jokingly. "You mean you doubted me?"

Her smile was so wide it shut her eyes. "Not for a second. I just had to see your reaction!"

She squeaked in surprise when all of the sudden he had rolled them over and he was once more on top of her, looking down into her eyes. She was almost worried for a second, but another smile from him put any fears but the most pleasurable to rest. "Never do that to me again," he threatened mockingly and didn't even let her have a response; instead he dove down and captured the lips that had been quivering in eager anticipation of his next move from such an intimate position.

The feel of her soft breasts molding themselves to his chest as he leaned his weight on her body to continue was something he knew he would never tire of. Ariana was mostly hard muscle, but what was soft on her was so soft it felt like heated satin. If he could, he would be more than content to just lie there and revel in the feel of her heart beating against her chest. That wasn't to say he didn't love it when she was the one to sprawl out on his body and simply relax on the warm flesh, which he had discovered he loved a lot during one of their few cuddle-sessions of affectionate afterglow. He knew better than anyone that sometimes a soft touch or an assuring love with no pressure for something more was just as good as the real thing. As it was though, he put all of himself into wrestling her lips with his, and it came as no surprise to him when she was the one to deepen the kiss and worm her tongue into his mouth. If there was one thing his fiancé was, it certainly wasn't passive.

He felt himself start to harden again and almost groaned. They had been at it for…he had lost track of time. Even he had to have limits and though his stamina was aching for more, certain other parts of him were aching for other reasons. He certainly wasn't a virgin anymore, hadn't been for months. Still, his aches couldn't overcome his desire to continue feeling her bare body.

His hand traced her smooth side and the soft curves of her breasts visible from under his chest. She could easily handle his body weight, but that didn't mean he would take away the other hand he always had off to the side to support himself in his unfounded fear of crushing her. She gave a mewl of appreciation into the kiss and it vibrated up his tongue and right to the overloaded pleasure sensor of his brain.

'I love it when she does that.'

They did break apart eventually though, and it wasn't a disappointing release at all. It was a wordless consensus that had somehow been reached during the act. The thought occurred to them that maybe they were so in-tune to each other's bodies now that they had instinctively known when it was time to stop.

Adell flopped to Ariana's side but instead of staying there, he completed the movement by slipping his hands onto her back and flipping her over onto him. He didn't even ask, and Ariana didn't complain, that was for sure. His heartbeat was strong and after their sessions there was something invigorating about hearing it pump so vigorously against his chest it was like it was trying to break out of his ribs. She probably didn't know he was getting just as much out of it as she was but had she known she certainly wouldn't have done anything differently.

'Aw, shit, I'm goin' to be sore tomorrow,' the fiery woman groaned inwardly. She was so pleasantly sore all over it was like she could last for the week simply on the afterglow from their repeated acts tonight. She considered, then immediately threw out, the idea of not having sex quite so much anymore, with how often they were sore. She knew eventually the soreness would lose its novelty but that would come tomorrow, when she wasn't still on a buzz from the waves of euphoria that had caused that soreness. She could have almost laughed right there, because somehow she knew that Adell was in exactly the same boat she was.

For now though, this was enough. This was home.

"You do realize we're going to have to tell everyone eventually, right?" She asked mirthfully.

Her red-haired lover let a pitiful whine escape his windpipe at the reminder. "I don't even want to imagine what Aki and Emina will do when we tell them."

Ariana paled at that. She had forgotten how flamboyant his sister-in-law was when she got overexcited.

"Remind me why I'm marrying into your family again?" She asked mock-worriedly. She hadn't expected anything to come of it, but he surprised her. His near-evil grin shocked her for a few seconds, before he showed her what that smirk meant. She felt his hard manhood slip over her folds and she moaned unwittingly.

"Gladly."

They could worry about the soreness later. For now they couldn't feel anything other than each other.

~To Be Continued~

_________________"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence'. Only 'Inevitability'." ~ Yuuko Ichihara

Ariana was bounding beside Adell as they patrolled the city. They were jumping over houses at a time and this was only the barest extent of their power used. To her it was rather liberating, running with Adell and feeling the wind through her hair.

Still, the patrol was doubtlessly unneeded, and that fact was only becoming more prominent the longer they spent jumping about.

"So, graduation's tomorrow I guess. Already have what you're going to wear?" Adell asked to make some conversation.

Ariana grinned knowingly. "You bet! Tifa would've killed me if I didn't have it ready the day before." That got a snicker from her partner.

"I think I'd pay to see that," he replied smartly.

She made a face and stuck her tongue out at him. She'd come a long way, to be able to be so playful.

"Reeeally mature," he mocked sarcastically. He was very nearly thrown off balance from her playful punch to his shoulder and he had to flip during his jump's descent to make sure he didn't make a nice stain on the concrete with his body. "Oh, so that's the way you want to play, huh?" He smiled and easily redirected his fall's landing to pounce on the unsuspecting body still falling to the ground. He could see the understanding dawning in her eyes as he flew towards her but it was far too late to do anything about it by then.

She yelped when the air was forced from her lungs as he collided with her in a full football tackle to her midsection and they both went falling towards the ground. Somehow he managed to roll them into a painless landing and launched himself up with his arms still around her waist until he had pinned her to a wall. She glared half-heartedly at him as he kept her pinned there with his body while he held her arms above her head easily.

"You seem to be getting a bit cocky there Ariana. What would you have done if I fell and hurt myself?" He asked with a smug smirk as she struggled against his grip just for show, testing his strength even though she already knew they were about even these days. Her eyes gradually darkened while their eye contact was maintained; desire and playfulness slowly shading her senses.

"Well," she began with a mocking edge as she started slowly widening her legs so he wouldn't notice. "I would probably laugh my head off for a little while…" She saw his lips quirk back a little farther into his smirk and knew she had his full attention. Exactly what she wanted. "…then I'd probably have to kiss it better now wouldn't I?" She saw those lips fail in the extension just momentarily, likely because of the memory of the last time she had said those words, and knew this was the time.

With no warning she had hopped up and brought her legs around his waist tightly before wringing them to the side and throwing him off-balance. She could see the shock in his eyes as he spied the concrete nearing them out of the corner of his eyes and all too soon he was flat on his back, Ariana sitting victoriously on his chest as she held his arms where hers had been previously.

"I think you are getting a bit cocky yourself, Adell. But after I finished those things I'd probably do this to be honest," she completed with a rueful smile where her smirk had once been.

She almost had enough time to register the same smile on his face before his arms broke free of her hold effortlessly and brought her face down to meet his. Their soft lips caressed each other as their rhythm was found unconsciously and it was only seconds later that they forgot entirely that they were acting like this in public...again. Regardless, the moment soon ended and yet Ariana felt no need to do anything but continue to lie on his chest as he relaxed back onto the ground.

"Where do you want to go for our honeymoon?" he asked casually, yet still unexpectedly.

She smiled up at him. "I'd like to go to the Netherworld. I've been there before but I've never had the chance to actually explore it. That'd be nice…" she pondered aloud.

"Oh, I don't think you'll be doing much exploring with what I had in mind…" he insinuated smartly and she punched him in the chest playfully.

"God, you're insatiable, you know that?"

"And you aren't?"

She could only blush.

"A-Anyways, I'm sure we could do some exploring after, couldn't we?" she stuttered back into their old conversation.

And so they laid there, watching the clouds go by overhead with no worries plaguing their minds. There's a first time for everything.

~~~~

He couldn't believe how fast the days had gone by, yet at the same time he couldn't believe how much he had accomplished in that time that was really so little. It seemed like yesterday that Ariana had waltzed into his life, and here he was getting ready for graduation from high school while in his second life he was a hero of various realms.

He knew for things like this it was usually called for to wear ties, but he wondered briefly if anyone would even notice, since he was always wearing a tie anyway. Other than that he had donned a normal formal suit of a color that had become very associated with him, especially in the spiritual realm. With his black blazer, black pants, and polished black shoes, he had to admit he could have passed for a modern day Shinigami. The thought made him chuckle unwittingly, what with his newfound friendship with Ichigo and his run-ins with various Shinigami in his and Ariana's travels with Kiera. His white dress-shirt was exactly how he liked it; done up all but the top button. Adjusting the boutonniere pinned to his lapel and studying himself in the mirror one last time just to be sure, he headed down the stairs to walk over to Tifa's new home, where Ariana was staying briefly to prepare.

It was a sunny day, and for once it seemed like the weather-people would be right, as it was warm but thankfully not too much so. Otherwise their outdoor graduation ceremony held right outside the school would be a fantastic failure. He chuckled. It would actually be funny if that had happened.

He was walking out his door when he quickly jerked back as if caught on a leash. 'Whoops, almost forgot something.' And he carefully picked up the white rose corsage he had bought for Ariana. It wouldn't do for him to forget that.

As he descended down the stairs from his room his family was already waiting for him. Samantha was a bit jumpier than usual, proudly snapping pictures of her son walking down the steps, while the person beside her was just as entertaining to watch. Yulina was happy to be wearing the new cream-colored dress she had been bought for the occasion, and she was waving excitedly at Adell from the foot of the stairs.

"Well, I guess I'll see you all at the ceremony. I'm going to pick up Ariana," he said casually as he walked right by them and out the door, leaving a smiling Samantha and giggling Yulina behind.

He didn't know how well it would work in a suit, but apparently he could run just as well even in the classy clothes he was wearing. In no time he was at Tifa's front door and for some reason he coughed nervously before knocking on said piece of wood. He just had the feeling that something was…odd.

Tifa answered the door and he could tell she had been rushed. That was probably easiest seen because she was trying to put in her earrings and put on a shoe at the same time as opening a door. She too was in a dress and it was the first time Adell could remember himself seeing her in one before; she was always wearing something she could easily fight in.

"Oh, Adell! Come on in, Ariana'll be right down!" she said quickly as her shoes were finally put into place and she was able to quickly do up her earrings. "It's been so long since I've done this I'd forgotten how long it takes to get ready!" she exclaimed with a laugh, and Adell joined in just because of how absurd her situation was. Rick was sitting calmly at the table, already ready to go and reading the newspaper.

Adell chuckled inwardly. Guys really did get the better deal when it came to prep time.

However that was the furthest thing from his mind a few seconds later, when he looked up to the top of the stairs going to Ariana's temporary room bidden by some unknown instinct.

His mouth suddenly went dry.

There…

…at the top of the stairs…

…was Ariana.

And she was wearing a dress.

Not a miniskirt type dress, reminiscent of what she usually wore, but an actual dress dress.

The black material clung to her curves and only went down to her knees, while the simple straps over her shoulders hung their material down like a slit t-shirt sleeve. That wasn't even the most surprising part, it was the fact that the straps only started at her ample cleavage was what had his attention. Her hair was drawn up into a loose bun held together with what looked to him like chopsticks, like what Karin had, and he could see the sparkle of the earring studs in her ears. She was wearing a light shade of lipstick and she was even wearing high heels.

Adell had to think of everything he possibly could to keep down the arousal that was suddenly coursing through him. 'Kieth in a dress! Aleron trying to kill me! Xavier trying to kill me! Dammit what else is there!? Ah! Mr. Johnson naked!' That certainly killed a lot of it. 'Who else!? Xavier naked!' There went some more. 'Ariana naked!'

Oops.

'DAMMIT!'

When he finally came back to himself after fighting off the urge to punch himself in the face, he saw Ariana still at the top of the stairs, shuffling her feet nervously. She was visibly struggling to keep her balance on the unfamiliar footwear, even as she looked uncertainly between him and whatever else her eyes could find. She almost looked afraid.

"So…how do I look?" she asked at last, with the same uncertainty that was written in her actions.

He tried to speak but no words would come out of his parched throat. He gulped numerous times to try and get any moisture back but to no avail. "God…" he rasped. "…you look…gorgeous." He coughed embarrassedly at the way his words had come out, but from her radiant smile he took a stab in the dark that that had only given the words even more appeal. He could hear Tifa and Rick trying to muffle their laughter at his reaction but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.

His wife-to-be was wearing a dress and hot damn did she look good.

He was startled out of his trance when she started walking down towards him, and it was slightly amusing—even he had to admit it—that she had to stop every now and then to regain her balance on the heeled shoes. Like most of their kind what they lacked in functionality they more than made up for in style, and they showed off her feet wonderfully from under the thin straps that held them in place. "Dammit I'm going to kill the person who made these shoes if I ever meet him," Ariana threatened irately as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Adell muffled another chuckle. She looked the part of the perfect little lady until she spoke.

"Hold out your hand Ariana," he requested softly, causing her to look at him questioningly; but she did as she was asked. It was then Adell took the corsage he had bought and slipped it onto her wrist, where she looked down at it in shock. Adell may know her body intimately, but he had no desire to put himself through the embarrassment of trying to put a pin corsage on his fiancé while Tifa and Rick watched. That had disaster written all over it. He held out his arm for her to take and she took the unspoken question for what it was happily, winding her arm into his.

All of a sudden Tifa was in front of them, and a bright flash temporarily blinded the duo followed by a great many more. When they finally stopped the couple could see she had a camera in her hands. Well, that was what they quessed it was, because right then there were so many spots over their eyes they could have sworn the sun had exploded in their faces.

"Tifa!" Ariana shouted. Adell merely snickered and he received a punch to the shoulder for that.

"Oh well, I'm sure there'll be plenty more pictures at the ceremony."

He heard Ariana whine in torment beside him briefly.

"You better enjoy this, because this is one of the only times you'll see me in a dress," she whispered angrily. He only nodded and kissed her cheek innocently, which caused another blush to rise on her cheeks.

Once again coughing down a chuckle at her actions, he prepared himself. "We'll see you there!" Adell called over his shoulder to Tifa and Rick. Before Ariana had any say in the matter he had eased the arm winded with hers around her waist and the other scooped her up into his arms before they both vanished in a burst of Ki. That didn't mean Tifa and Rick didn't hear her surprised yelp before Adell had whisked her away.

They both laughed at the sound Ariana had made and grabbed their car keys to follow them. Their new 'family' was so much fun, and would only grow bigger before too long. Especially with the newly married couple of Tifa and Rick, and Kiera had already discovered Cloud was near putty in her hands these days. Shouldn't be too hard to get him to propose. Not to mention Adell and Ariana's planned wedding in the near future.

Yes, things were certainly looking up.

~To Be Continued~

_________________"There is no such thing as 'Coincidence'. Only 'Inevitability'." ~ Yuuko Ichihara